


daddy issues

by avalonjoan



Series: Henrietta: without magic, with medical careers [7]
Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medical, Alternate Universe- No Supernatural, Caretaking, Cuddling & Snuggling, Doctor Adam Parrish, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kid Fic, M/M, Married Couple, Nausea, No Angst, Paramedic Ronan Lynch, Parenthood, Physician Assistant, Reading Aloud, Sick Ronan Lynch, Sickfic, Swearing, briefly, no vomiting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:08:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28344405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/avalonjoan/pseuds/avalonjoan
Summary: Ronan put a hand on Adam’s chest before he could close in for a kiss, shaking his head. “You don’t want to kiss me.”“You’re not gonna get me sick, dumbass, I already had it.”“Gansey says that you shouldn’t say that in front of me,” Opal piped up, squirming to be put down.Opening the car door, Ronan stepped back so Adam could deposit Opal in her car seat. “Gansey doesn’t get to give parenting advice until he has a kid of his own.”---Adam returns from a medical conference to find an energetic Opal and an exhausted Ronan waiting from him. Later, after bathtime and storytime and bedtime, Ronan says something that makes Adam reflect on the different fathers in their lives.
Relationships: Ronan Lynch/Adam Parrish
Series: Henrietta: without magic, with medical careers [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1971451
Comments: 19
Kudos: 148





	daddy issues

Medical conferences were always a fantastic time, filled with cocktail hours and expert panels and energetic keynote speakers, but dear god, Adam was glad to be home. He stretched while he waited for his luggage to show up on the conveyor belt, trying to loosen up his legs before the ride home. He didn’t remember being this uncomfortable after coming back from this conference the last time it was in San Francisco.

Of course, the last time the physician assistant national conference was in San Francisco, he’d been ten years younger, so maybe that had something to do with it. They’d also been living in Boston, so it had been an easy direct flight, but coming to Virginia meant that there were layovers, so he’d been in transit for almost eight hours today. However, the biggest difference had been that Ronan joined him on that trip. Adam had gone to lectures during the day while Ronan explored the city and then they had gone out to enjoy the gay nightlife that Boston was severely lacking. It had been an exhausting weekend, and they had returned with a lot more medical knowledge (and hickeys, after having too good of a time with each other while dancing in the Castro) than when they’d left.

This time, though, Ronan hadn’t come with him. They’d thought about it, but decided that it wasn’t worth pulling Opal out of school for a vacation if Adam was going to be conferencing for most of it, so she and Ronan stayed behind. Adam had gotten brief updates every night, with Opal chattering into the phone for a few minutes without stopping until Ronan managed to wrench it away for a quick ‘hi-how-was-your-day-I-love-you-goodnight’, but a fair amount of details get lost when a five-year-old is in charge of the daily briefing. The other night, it sounded like they’d gone to a playground? A graveyard? Either was plausible.

Finally, Adam’s suitcase tumbled down the ramp and he snatched it up before leaving the terminal. He was still wearing an extra layer of clothing from trying to keep warm on the plane, and it was too hot to keep everything on in the May heat. He had his sweatshirt half-off around his head, completely blocking his vision, when something slammed into his legs and shouted, “Daddy!”

Keeping the sweatshirt over his face, he twisted left and right. “Opal?” he asked, “Where are you? I can’t see you.”

“Down here!” She banged his thigh with a fist.

He pulled the sweatshirt off the rest of the way and looked down, gasping theatrically. “There you are!” Picking up Opal, who had been waiting with her arms above her head, Adam held her against his chest and kissed her cheek. “Hi, baby girl,” he said, voice softer, “I missed you.”

“I missed you too.” She snuggled against his shoulder. “I’m happy you’re home.”

“Me too, honey.” He put a hand on her back and looked at the row of idling cars, musing out loud, “Now, the real question is, where did your Dad park?” Ronan wouldn’t have let Opal out of his sight, so he had to be close. Sure enough, Adam spotted their car a few spaces down the line; more rather, he spotted Ronan, who was leaning against the passenger door, arms folded across his chest, corner of his mouth upturned in a smile. Adam shifted Opal to his hip and wheeled his suitcase to the car. Carefully stepping down from the curb, he leaned in to kiss Ronan. “Hey there.”

Ronan put a hand on Adam’s chest before he could close in for the kiss, shaking his head. “You don’t want to kiss me.”

“You’re not gonna get me sick, dumbass, I already had it.”

“Gansey says that you shouldn’t say that in front of me,” Opal piped up, squirming to be put down. 

Opening the car door, Ronan stepped back so Adam could deposit Opal in her car seat. “Gansey doesn’t get to give parenting advice until he has a kid of his own.” 

Adam did the buckle around Opal, then checked to make sure it was snug before standing and almost-glaring at Ronan. “You’re seriously not going to let me kiss you?”

“I’m like, very gross in the face region, Parrish.” To be fair, Ronan did look kind of awful; his lips were chapped, the underside of his nose was red and irritated, and his eyes had the unfocused look of someone who hadn’t slept well in far too long. The bug going around Opal’s class had made her grumpy and a little sniffly for a few days, but it had absolutely knocked Adam out, so he wasn’t surprised it did the same to Ronan. After clearing his throat and failing to suppress a wince, Ronan conceded, “I’ll allow a forehead kiss.”

Obligingly, Adam leaned in and pressed his lips to Ronan’s forehead, then tilted his head down to let his husband do the same. He’d closed his eyes for a second, smiling at how Ronan’s lips were warm on his skin, how good it felt to be back, when Opal yelled from the open door, “Stop kissing! I want to go home.”

“Yes, boss,” Ronan called back, then said to Adam, “You heard the woman.” He reached for his keys and started to walk around the front of the car.

Adam lunged and grabbed his arm before Ronan could get more than a few steps away. “Uh-uh,” he said, holding his other hand out, “I’m driving.”

“You’ve been on a plane since like, five AM. I’m not making you drive an hour home.”

“I want to. Don’t make me fight you for the keys in front of our daughter.” Adam put his hand over Ronan’s and pried the keys from his fingers. “You’ve been on parent duty all week and you look like shit. Let me do this.”

Nodding, Ronan got into the passenger seat while Adam put his suitcase in the trunk and took his seat up front to start the drive home. At some point, Opal’s recollection of the past week trailed off as she fell asleep, quickly followed by Ronan. Adam kept an eye on them both, occasionally reaching back to run a hand over Opal’s leg to soothe her back to sleep. He made an almost-whispered phone call to order pizza when they were about half an hour away, since he sure as hell didn’t feel like cooking and wasn’t going to make Ronan do it either. By some miracle, he was even able to pick it up without waking either of them.

It was the sound of tires on gravel that finally woke them, Opal rubbing at her eyes and immediately starting to tell Adam about how her class was learning about the human body (“Did you know that there’s a big AND a little intes--int--that thing that looks like a worm?”). Ronan took a little longer, grimacing as he rolled his shoulders. “I’m getting too old to sleep in the car.”

“Dude, you’re thirty-six.”

“Yeah, dude,” Opal interjected, sending Ronan into a laughing-slash-coughing fit. When he caught his breath, he got out of the car and unbuckled Opal from her seat.

“Alright, kiddo. You hungry?” She shook her head. “Want to play in the yard for a little bit and then have dinner?”

“Yeah!” Jumping out of the car, she ran toward the back of the house and Ronan jogged after her. 

Adam left his suitcase in the car in favor of bringing the pizza inside, leaving it on the counter before heading to the backyard, where he found Ronan pushing Opal on the swing they’d hung from one of the trees. She kept telling him to push her higher, and he was insisting that if she went any higher, she’d fly away. Adam walked up behind Ronan and put his arms around him, kissing the back of his neck. “Go relax, babe,” he murmured, “I got this.”

He expected Ronan to resist and was pleasantly surprised when he didn’t; instead, he sat beside the tree, resting his back against the trunk. After a few minutes, Opal decided she was done with the swing and wanted to play on the slide, leaving Adam some almost-alone time with Ronan. As soon as Adam sat down, Ronan changed positions, lying in the grass with his head in the other’s lap; a second later, his breath hitched and he jerked forward with two sneezes, then immediately started coughing.

Adam ran his fingers over Ronan’s scalp. “You’re really not doing well, are you?”

“Surprisingly, I’m actually doing better than a few days ago.” Ronan’s voice was a pitiable mix of hoarse and congested, and Adam couldn’t believe he didn’t notice it during their nightly phone calls. “Blue and Gansey took her for an afternoon because I felt like I was dying.”

“You poor thing.” If it had been years ago, Adam would have said that jokingly, poking a little fun at Ronan’s complaining, but now that they were parents, everything felt so much bigger. He was about to prod Ronan to go inside and rest when the previous statement caught up with him. “Wait. Did they—oh my god, did they actually take her to a cemetery? She said something on the phone but--”

With a laugh, Ronan nodded. “Yep. Did some rubbings of the grave markers, too, which she’s very excited to show you.”

Adam sighed. “We picked the weirdest godparents for that kid.”

“Hate to break it to you, Parrish, but we’re pretty fucking weird, too.”

“Valid.” 

Adam continued to smooth a hand over Ronan’s head, sometimes sliding down to rub his back or chest, until Opal yelled from the other side of the yard, “Want to see how fast I can run?”

“Of course!” He called back, cheering as she dashed over to (and nearly crashed into) them. “Do you want to race?”

“Yeah!” 

Nudging Ronan to sit up, Adam got to his feet and jogged after Opal while she laughed, looking back at him and only tripping once. They made a few laps of the yard (which Adam was not even remotely prepared for after a day of precisely zero physical activity) before coming to a stop near Ronan. Adam ruffled Opal’s hair. “Ready for dinner yet?”

Opal nodded and led the way inside while Adam extended a hand to help Ronan to his feet. After brushing the grass off his shorts, Ronan took his hand and gave a gentle squeeze. “I can’t believe I didn't ask already--how was the conference?”

“Excellent, as always. I took lots of notes for you; there was this great talk about ECMO from this guy up at the Brigham that I think you’ll love.”

Ronan pumped his fist. “Nice.” He was quiet until they were almost at the back door. “I missed you a lot.”

Adam brought Ronan’s hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to his knuckles. “I missed you too.”

Once they were inside, the usual dinnertime routine fell into place: Adam set the table, Ronan poured drinks, and Opal did her best to actually stay in her chair and not get caught underfoot. Opal demolished her first slice and had to be told to slow down for the second, whereas Ronan tore off little bits of his crust but barely ate anything, to the point where even Opal noticed. “Why aren’t you eating, Dad?”

“Yeah, Dad,” Adam echoed softly as he dragged his chair over to get a closer look at Ronan. Something must have changed since their reunion at the airport; his color was off now--not just pale, but _wrong_ \--and he looked distinctly uncomfortable, his brow furrowed, his posture stiff. Adam had been working in medicine (and been married to Ronan) for ten years; he could make the distinction between not-sick and sick, and Ronan was starting to cross into the second category. Turning back to Opal, Adam said, “Sweetheart, why don’t you go to your room and pick out a few books for tonight?” 

She hopped out of her chair and ran toward the staircase, slowing only after Adam called after her to do so. Once the thumping of her footsteps had faded, Ronan leaned into Adam, dropping his head on the other’s shoulder. “I honestly think I might throw up if I try to eat anything right now.” 

Adam made a sympathetic sound and started to rub Ronan’s back. “Did this just start?”

Ronan shook his head. “My stomach’s been off all day--I took some Zofran this morning and felt better, but it’s definitely worn off now.” Massaging the area under his cheekbones with his fingertips, he went on, “My sinuses were like fucking concrete all week, but now I’m swallowing one-hundred-fucking-percent of that shit and it does _not_ feel good.” He slumped forward so that his elbows were on the table, his forehead resting against his hands. 

“Why didn’t you say something?”

“It’s not that big of a deal--just sucks, is all. ”

“It might be turning into a big deal, Ro.” Adam rested his palm on the side of Ronan’s neck to gauge his temperature; his pulse fluttered under Adam’s fingers, the skin cool and damp with sweat. “When’s the last time you had anything to eat?”

Ronan had to think about the question long enough that Adam already knew what the answer would be. “I had some cereal this morning, a little coffee.”

Nodding, Adam sighed. “Alright. Let me get you some more Zofran and I’ll go handle bedtime.”

With a dismissive wave of his hand, Ronan sat up and pushed his chair back. “I’ll be fine--it’ll pass.”

Adam put a hand on Ronan’s shoulder to keep him from standing. “Lynch,” he said firmly, “I can deal with you puking tonight, but I absolutely do not have the bandwidth to deal with you passing out because you haven’t eaten all day.” Gently, he leaned in to kiss Ronan’s temple and went on in an almost-whisper, “I know you. Let me handle this.”

After looking at Adam for a few seconds, Ronan nodded and folded his arms on the table, laying his head down on top of them and closing his eyes. Adam cleaned up from dinner and gathered what he needed, returning to the table and resting his hand on Ronan’s back. He sat up, somehow looking more miserable than before, bouncing his leg like he did whenever he was nauseated. When Adam held out the tablet of Zofran, Ronan let him place it under his tongue for him, then rested his head back down while the pill dissolved.

“There’s Pedialyte on the table for you,” Adam said, unscrewing the cap and placing the bottle within Ronan’s reach. “Don’t try to stand until you’ve had some.” Ronan nodded almost imperceptibly; Adam smoothed a hand over his back until he stopped jiggling his leg, then went to start the bedtime process after a detour to the car to retrieve his suitcase. There were a few gifts for Opal inside--a San Francisco shirt with a big rainbow on it and chocolates shaped like zoo animals, plus all the promotional stress balls from the conference vendors’ floor--but he’d wait for Ronan to be there to give them to her.

Upstairs, Opal was sitting on her bed, ‘Harvey Potter’s Balloon Farm’ open on her knees as she ‘read’ the story out loud to her stuffed bear. To her credit, she did a pretty good job of reciting the book, having heard it dozens of times. Adam sat beside her and kissed her head. “Do you want me to finish reading it to you and Blue Bear?”

She thought about it for a second and then shook her head. “No, thank you.” Then, she picked up Blue Bear (who was, in fact, pink in color, but named because Blue was the one who gave it to her) and handed it to Adam. “Hold her up so she can see the pictures better.”

“Oh, okay.” Adam did as Opal instructed, occasionally making the bear scuttle closer to the page to look closer at the balloon shapes. Once Opal finished, she decided that she actually did want Adam to read it because he ‘did the part with the whooping and hollering best’, and there was no way he could say no to that. After the second time through the book, Adam declared it bathtime and ushered Opal down the hall.

Bathtime was blissfully uneventful, with no soap in anyone’s eyes. He was corralling her back to her room when he saw Ronan, all six feet of him curled to fit on Opal’s twin bed, eyes closed. Opal stopped in the hall and whispered to Adam, “Can I jump on him?”

“Dad’s tummy doesn’t feel good, so don’t jump _on_ him tonight, but you can jump on the bed next to him, okay?”

“Okay.” Opal ran to her room and launched herself onto the mattress beside Ronan, who started with such dramatic flair that he must have been awake the whole time. “Can you sleep here again?”

Of course he’d spent the night in her room while Adam was gone. She’d been having trouble with the dark recently, even with a nightlight, and if either of them were going to cave to her request for them to stay, it would most certainly be Ronan. Ronan opened his mouth to reply but Adam cut in, “No, Dad needs to sleep in our room tonight. But we’re right down the hall if you get scared.”

Somberly, Opal nodded and got under the covers, scooting as close to Ronan as she could in her effort to make room for Adam. From on top of the bedspread, Ronan put an arm around her and squeezed her to him. “What book did you pick for a bedtime story?”

She pointed to the small stack on the bedside table. Adam took the two on top and held them up. “Let’s do these two tonight, and then the rest of them tomorrow--which one do you want first?” Opal pointed to ‘The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog!’. “Excellent choice.”

Doing the voices that always made Opal (and sometimes even Ronan) laugh, Adam read the book while Opal pointed at her favorite pictures. He realized as they were halfway through ‘Popcorn’ that maybe reading only silly books before bed wasn’t the best idea, and it took a few minutes of quiet talking to settle her down enough to sleep. Ronan, however, hadn’t needed any help; Adam noticed that he was asleep before they even started the second book.

Adam rubbed a hand over Ronan’s upper arm to rouse him, smiling as he blinked awake. “Time for bed, honey.”

Eyes half-open, Ronan kissed Opal’s head and whispered, “Sleep well, sweetheart. I love you.”

Opal nodded, mumbling a sleepy ‘I love you’ in return. Adam brushed some of her hair off of her forehead and added, “I love you so much.”

Nodding again, Opal rolled onto her side, Blue Bear clutched to her chest. Adam stood, reaching out a hand for Ronan as they left the room, closing the door behind them. Even though he looked ready to fall asleep on his feet, Ronan insisted on showering with Adam; of course, it only served to make the shower longer, since Ronan kept snuggling up to Adam and running his hands over anywhere he could reach. When they were finally in bed, Ronan continued trying to have as much contact with Adam as possible, putting his head on his chest and laying an arm over him. “Good move, not letting her jump on me. That...might not have ended well.”

“I figured as much.” Adam said as he ran his hand up and down Ronan’s back. “Are you feeling any better?” 

Ronan shrugged. “Enough.” 

“Did you eat something?”

“Peanut butter sandwich.”

“Of course.” It was the go-to sick meal in their house: boring enough that anyone could tolerate it, nutritious enough that they could get away with eating nothing but that for a few days. “I was thinking I could take her to the pond tomorrow so you can get some rest.”

“No, no--stay here. I missed seeing you two together.” Ronan traced his fingertips over Adam’s bicep and went on, “You’re both so fucking cute, no matter what you’re doing. Like today, when I was watching you play in the yard--it’s like you were made to be her dad, you know?”

Without thinking about it, Adam clenched his jaw and squeezed his eyes shut to keep from crying. Holding Ronan tightly, he rested his lips against the fuzz of his hair. He didn’t trust himself to say anything, especially once a few tears made it down the side of his face. Sure, he was exhausted from traveling and had been missing his family for a week and he was concerned about his husband, but hearing someone say that would have made him break down even at his best. 

And the fact that it was coming from Ronan made it feel so much _more_.

Ronan had seen firsthand what Adam’s father had done to him; he’d put himself in the middle of it to protect Adam when he was bleeding and dizzy in the dirt.

Ronan had been his own father’s favorite, the spitting image of him in every way. He had been lost and broken when his father died, idolized him longer than most men did with their fathers.

Perhaps most importantly, Adam thought the same thing about Ronan. Ever since he heard Ronan singing her an Irish lullaby, a song from his childhood in a language he hadn’t heard in decades, he knew that Ronan was meant to be Opal’s father.

Adam must have been holding his breath, because Ronan propped himself up on one arm and looked down at him. He briskly rubbed a hand over Adam’s chest, eyes a little panicked. “Hey, honey, breathe.” He thumbed away a few tears that were heading toward Adam’s ear. “I’m sorry, I didn’t—”

“No, no—” Adam frantically shook his head, drying the other side of his face on the pillowcase. “I just never thought I’d—”

His breath caught and he rolled on his side, burying his face against Ronan’s neck. Adam really, _really_ didn’t want to start sobbing right now; they’d both had long days and didn’t need a daddy-issues-related-breakdown at bedtime. Ronan put one arm around Adam and brought the other up to cradle the back of his head. “I know, babe,” he murmured, gently rocking them as one, “You’re alright. I’ve got you.”

Sniffling, Adam nodded, so focused on holding Ronan that he momentarily forgot that the other wasn’t feeling well; Ronan made a sound of protest and he loosened his embrace. Adam was grateful that Ronan wouldn’t try to make him talk about it; after seventeen years, there was so much they didn’t need to say. He took a deep breath in and blew it out slowly through pursed lips, and when he was finally feeling in control, he pulled away enough to be able to look at Ronan. “Can I have a real kiss now?”

“Dirty move, Parrish, turning on the waterworks to get a kiss out of me,” Ronan smirked before kissing him, long and slow and gentle. Adam could have kissed him forever--the week away had been too long on its own, and these last few kissless hours had made it an eternity--but Ronan pulled away after a few seconds, muffling a harsh cough into his pillow. “I’ll make it up to you when I’m not a fucking mess.”

“You’d better.” Adam kissed Ronan’s forehead, then rolled over to shut off the bedside lamp. Ronan cozied up to Adam, head heavy and warm over his heart. This was perfect, this was everything Adam had ever wanted, this was—

“Daddy?”

Ronan sat up and turned on his lamp while Adam went to crouch beside Opal in the doorway. “What is it, O?”

“It’s too dark.” She pouted, holding Blue Bear under one arm. “Can I sleep with you tonight?”

Looking back at Ronan, who tilted his head in a way that seemed to indicate ‘up to you’, Adam tucked a few strands of Opal’s hair behind one ear. “Okay, sweetie.” He stood, scooping her up and plopping her onto the bed before getting in himself. Opal positioned herself between him and Ronan, but Adam put his hands on her hips and moved her to his other side. “You got to sleep next to Dad all week--it’s my turn now.”

“Okay.” She fit herself against him so that Adam’s arm was around her, holding her to his side. “Goodnight, Daddy. Goodnight, Dad.”

Shutting the light off again, Ronan lay down on Adam’s other side, one arm reaching over his chest to hold Opal’s hand. “Goodnight, O. Love you.”

Adam knew that this wasn’t going to be the full night’s sleep he and Ronan so desperately needed, as it would inevitably end with one or both of them being awakened by Opal’s wriggling and/or kicking, but it was a small price to pay for a night wedged between the two loves of his life. Smiling to himself, he kissed the top of Opal’s head, then Ronan’s. “I love you both so very much.”

**Author's Note:**

> Legit the first kid fic I've written and I had to look up so many things.
> 
> Also, Harvey Potter's Balloon Farm, the Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog!, and Popcorn are all amazing books for kids.
> 
> Thanks for reading! I'm avalonjoan on tumblr if you want to chat.


End file.
